Forecast Rationale The worldwide naval mine threat is not going away Naval mines left over from World War I still threaten shipping today. Some naval mines deteriorate after a time, but not all of them. Furthermore, subsequent wars have added more naval mines to this threat. Thousands of naval mines remain active even though the conflicts they were part of have long since concluded. Many are in remote areas and are not a priority to clear. The location of many others is unknown. Whatever the situation, the threat remains ‘The acquisition of mine countermeasures systems ebbs and flows. Oftentimes, a flurry of orders will occur when existing MCM_ systems become hopelessly obsolete or an incident forces stalled purchases to move ahead. The pattern of procurement activity and then years of neglect is continuously repeated. The demand for new MCM vessels and systems growing. Many navies need to replace existing systems that are obsolete, Procuring new MCM systems is not a priority for many navies. In fact, numerous navies across the world have let their MCM capability wither. This pattern of disinterest is changing, however, due in part 10 the provocative actions of certain nations. ECA is trying to seize a portion of this new market potential. The company's Poisson Auto-Propulse series is in service with navies around the world and the systems are among the most successful ROVs on the market. Production of the PAP exceeds that of all its competitors. ‘The market for ROVs is always in motion. No system or company can remain at the top of this segment for long, no matter how good it may be. To hold on to its market share, ECA is offering new products, including remotely operated and mine disposal vehicles. Among the former are the OLISTER and ALISTER systems. ECA is also trying to exploit continued interest in the PAP series through the development of additional upgrade packages. In addition, ECA is producing a mine disposal vehicle called the K-STER. This MDV is a relative newcomer to the mine countermeasures market. While ROVs like OLISTER and ALISTER are reusable, MDVs are